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K. A. FROSBLL.

MOVABLE SGAFFOLD. No. 508,378. 5 66 Patented No'v. 7, 1893.

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K. A. VFROSELL.

MUVABLE SGAFFOLD. No. 508,378. y Patented Nov. '7, 1893.-

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Patented Nov. 7,1893.

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4UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KARL ALBERT FROSELIJ, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MovABLE scAFFoLD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 508,378, dated November 7, 1893. Application filed'January 18, 1893. Serial No. 458,852. (No model.) Patented in England August 18, 1S92,No.14,939.

To all whom it may concern: l

Be it known that I, KARL ALBERT FRosELL, a resident of New York, in the State of New York, having declared my intention of becoming a citizen of the United States of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Movable Scaffolds or Traveling Platforms, (for which l have obtained a patent in Great Britain and Ireland, No. l4,939, dated August 18, 1892;) and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

reference being made to the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as part of this specification and read therewith, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in movable scaolds or platforms, such as are -used by,bricklayers, masons, painters and others engaged in dressing and pointing the external faces of walls, or in painting the frames ofthe windows and doors therein.

Itconsists in improved devices for raising and lowering the movable scaffold with a climbing action and motion, as well as for shifting the scaffold laterally for thev purpose of bringing it in front of another width of work.

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation illustrating .the construction ofk my apparatus. Fig. 21is a detail sectional side elevation on the line 2 2 of Fig. vSfomitting the raising and lowering levers. Fig. 34 is a section-al frontv elevation omitting the disengaging gear. Fig. .itis a front elevation illustrating more particularly the process of shifting a scaffold pole. Fig. 5 is a vvplan of the shifting strut and the guide for.r the shifting rope. Fig. 6

is a sectional plan of the top roller guide: closed. The dotted lines show it open. Fig. 7 is a rear elevation of the same guide closed, l

omitting the rollers. Fig. 7a1 is adetail rear elevation, partly in section, of the top of the' hollow pole, the head-pole, and the adjacent portion of the safety rope, its compressors.,vv

and their rope. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of a two pole movable scaffold. I Fig.9 is afront elevation illustrating a modified form of claw to be used with a notched bar on the hollow pole. Fig. 10 is a side elevation correspond- 16 is a sectional plan on the line 16-16 of Figs. 14 and 15.

a is the bottoni scaffold pole; and b, the

head pole or capital. Both of these are square in cross section the former for the purpose of preventing the hollow pole next described turning upon it; and t-he latter, to-prevent it turning within the hollowpole. This latter, c, is, as heretofore, a square tube of a proper size to t and slide up or down the pole aand to receive the pole b socketwise. protected by ferrules c.

The heel of the bottom scaffold pole is shod with a metal shoe. This consists of aring a and four arms CL2. The latter meet at a right angle with each other at a point under the center of the ring andare bent upward. in a circular direction and made fast to the side of the ring symmetrically. Each arm is contignued past the ring and terminates in an eye a pole, with the eyeskas standing substantially parallel with, the f'our faces of the pole respectively. A

a4 is a movable base block. A central cavity -is formed in the top face of a proper size to Its ends are The shoe is made fast to the heel ,of the Y The head pole b projects downward into the hollow pole c far enough to keep it steadyin and on it. Its projection above it is used to carry part of the shifting devices and is maintained by the straps described farther on IOO resting upon the top of the hollow pole c. 'I

of which embraces the pole.

lss

The three poles thus tit together in such a way that they are virtually one, and the baseblock a4 and the shifting gear described farther on, acting together, sutice to maintain the composite pole in a vertical position.

The movable scaffold consists of a strong {ioor d, corner uprights d a hand or safety rail d2 carried by them, such additional horizontal rails as may be desirable, a subsidiary door d3 hinged to the front side of the iioor and adapted to make it up to the wall, and telescope handrails d4, d4. These latter slide backward and forward through eyes d5. Each eye has a screwed shank which passes through the respective hand rail d2 and carries on its inner end a wing nut by which the rail d4 can be held in any position. The subsidiary floor d3, and the two rails d4, when they are out as far as the wall, t'. e., in the po sition illustrated in Fig. l, serve to steady the composite scaffold-pole and the scalold.

d is a hole in the door d large enough to allow the hollow pole cto pass through. The scatfold as a whole is held to the said pole, and its steady motion up or down it is provided for by means of two roller-guides each Each guide consists of a ring d?, preferably of angleiron, necessarily of the same contour as the hollow pole c, and large enough to clear it as it moves up and down it, four rollers d8, their axles dg, and four pairs of vwebs d10 projecting vertically from the ring (i7, the two of each pair forming a right angle with each other coincident with the respective external angle of the ring, and in which webs the said axles have their bearings. The latter are so positioned in their webs that the rollers d8 are all equally in contact with the pole c. So far the two guides are alike in respect of construction and operation. The rear side of the top one is pivoted in the manner shown in Figs. 1, 6 and 7. The axle dg of this particular side has no bearing in either of the respective webs. Instead thereof it projects through both webs, each end standing between a pair of horizontal webs du, du. One end of the axle terminates in an eye du.

d13 is a bolt passed downward through the eye and the web between which it stands. This forms the pivot of the side in question. ol14 is a stop-pin, which, by being passed through two holesin the opposite pair of webs d, d, in front of the axle, and after the latter has been pushed in between the webs, closes the guide, and keeps the pivoted roller up to the respective face ot' the pole c. The bottom guide tits wit-hin the hole d in the iioor d. The top oneis heldata suitable dis tance above it by three stays dw, which spring from the said fioor.

e, e are a pair of vertical and parallel guide rods. Their top ends are made fast to the front side of the top guide, and their bottom ends to a bridge-piece e which is made fast to the door d. These two rods stand symmetrically right and left of the center line of the scaiTold-pole.

e2 is a stout slider. It is provided with four eyes e3, two on each side of it, which embrace the respective guide rod e.

e4 is a pin, fast to, and projecting centrally from, the front face of the slider.

e5, e are a pair ot' levers. They are counterparts of each other, and have a common fulcrum in the pin e4, their handles standing on opposite sides of the fulcrum.

e7, e8 are two equal links. Each is pivoted by one end to the outer end of the respective lever e5, e, and by the opposite end to an eye e. The eyes e are made fast to the i'loor d symmetrically right and left of the hole d6.

el0 is a metal bar mortised centrally into the front face of the pole c. In this bar and the pole behind it I form a series of equidistant and equal holes e, e, aligned vertically with each other.

j", f are a pair of bell-crank levers. The former has its fulcrumin a pair of projections f2 on the bottom face of the slider e2, and the latter in the top of a crutch f3 which stands up from the bridge-piece e between the guiderods e. The shorter arms of these levers project to the front of the plane in which their fulcra stand. The upper extremities of the longer arms of the bell-crank leversf,f terminate in claws f4, f5, the faces of which are convex upward and backward from the pole. A claw face is deeper than a hole, so that when a claw is in its hole, the top of itis outside and above the hole and to the front of the plate em. 1n point of position these claws are always aligned with each other, and opposite the vertical center line of the post c. As to size, either of them is adapted to enter and to hold the scaffold suspended from any of the holes en. Suitable devices are provided for the purpose of forcing a claw into the holes whenever it is opposite any one of them. They are, preferably, of the spring type. That of the top claw f is a loop f6 the ends of which are wound round and made fast to the extremities of pins f7, while its operative end f8 bears upon the back of the catch, and `pushes it toward the pole c. The bottom claw f is kept up to the plate elo, and forced into the holes e, whenever it is opposite to any one of them, by a spiral spring f, which is made fast by one end to the short arm of the bell-crank leverf, and by the other to an ad justable double socket f10 which is held fast to the guide-rods above the fulcrum of the said lever. Any equivalent spring devices adapted to keep the claws in contact with the face of the pole and to drive them into the holes when they are opposite to them, may be employed.

f11,f11 are notches in forward extensions of the slider and the socket. They serve as guides for the claws.

IIO

The disengaging mechanism, which is brought into operation prior to lowering the scaffold is as follows:

g is a vertical cylinder pivoted near its bottom end on the outer end of the short arm of the bell crank lever f y g', g are the cylinder ends.

gs, gs are a pair of thimbles each of two diameters. By the larger of these they are adapted to slide up and down the cylinder, and by the smaller, through the ends.

g4 is a spiral spring permanently in compression. It is strong enough to keep both thimbles with their larger diameters up at the respective ends of the cylinder.

g5 is a rod fitting within, and adapted to slide in either direction through, the thimbles. The top end of it, and the outer end of the shorter arm of the bell-crank lever f, are so made that they can be easily connected together or disconnected.

gs, g7 are two collars fast upon the rod g5, the latter to the bottom, and the former nearer the top. When the rod g5 is at the top of its stroke-the position illustrated by the full lines of Fig. 2-the distance between the thimble gs and the collar gs is a little less than that between the supporting faces of any two adjacent holes en.

b is a frame fixed fast to the head-pole b, `preferably to the rear face of it.

bs, b2 are a pair of compressors, each pivoted upon its own axis bs. Their operative surfaces are toothed.

b4, b4 are a pair of extensions, each one on the inner side of the compressor.

b5, b5 are a pair of springs fast by their upper ends to a ledge bs above the compressors, Vand by their lower ends to the respective extensionsb4,b4. The function of these springs is to rock the compressors outward and upward until they compress and hold the safe- Yty-rope fast against the top of the frame b b7 is a rope bifurcated at one end. Each fork of the rope is made lfast to au extension b4. Y

The shifting strut as seen in Fig. consists of a pair of arms bs, bs whichv are fixed to the hollow pole c in the way described farther on, and from which they project symmetrically to the rear thereof. Each arm is extensible by any suitable means. According to the construction illustrated, each arm bs has eyes bs, b9 projecting from it through which a second arm bw can be moved to and fro.

b11 b11 are small antifriction wheels or rollers,carried by the outer ends of the arms blo, and lying or projecting always in a horizontal plane.

b12 b12 Fig. 5 are set-screws, carried by the arms bs, and serving to fasten the arms b10 or to release the same for adj nstment.

bls, b1S are braces from one arm bs to the other.

The strut is fixed to the pole c by means of a shackle bm. This is made adjustable to any height on the pole by having one side detachable. The shackle is held to the pole by drawing the detachable side and the opposite side together by wing nuts bis, engaging with the screwed ends of the shackle sides. The arms bs, bs are pivoted upon a pair of studs bls, b16 projecting from the shackle sides.

bw, b17 are stop-pins adapted to prevent the weight of the strut outside the pivots pulling itdown.

bls is the safety rope.

b1", b1s are two xed points at about the same level as the head pole one on each side of the latter. They are preferably provided by stout pegs driven into the cornice or parapet of the wall, as illustrated in Figs. l and 4;.

b20 is an eyesupported by two arms b21, b21, Fig. 5, in a central and stationary position in front of the vertical plane of the scaffold. These arms are made fast to the head pole b just below the frame b already described. bssis a cleat. It is carried at the end of an arm b2s which projects from the foot of the hollow pole c to the vertical line of said eye bss. The shifting ropes bss are represented as prolongations of the safety ropes bls. Half of the wholerope is passed through the frame b between the compressors and the frame top, and both halves are then made fast to the fixed points b1s,b1s, respectively. In practice separate ropes may be employed. The shifting ropes are led from the said points toward the pole, downward through the eye bss, and are made fast to the cleat bss. The safety rope is thus out of the way of mischievous individuals on the ground, who cannot get at it to injure it. The shifting ropes, too, hang outside the hollow pole insteadV of being led downward inside it and their cleats are on the hollow pole instead of being at some distance from it. b24 is a hand lever; and b25 an upwardly pointing hook fast to its side near the front end of it.

The apparatus made as above described is used as follows: The scaffold is set on the ground and-the top-guide opened. The hollow and head poles, with the strut properly adjusted for distance from the wall, aswell as to miss windows and the like, can now be set up through the open side of the top-guide without letting them down through it,or lifting the scaold over the hollow pole. The bottom pole a with its pin as in the proper hole is then got into position, and the shifting ropes bss, bss, made taut to their cleat bss. Both clawsjf are in as many holes e11 in the face of the hollow pole, and thelevers e5, es in the position No. 1 shown by the. full lines of Fig. 3. To raise the scaffold up the pole c, (assuming that the levers stand in position No. l, Fig. 3,) the rod g5 is unfastened from the bell-crank lever f. The levers e5, es are next raised from the position No. l to position No. 2. This raises the slider es up to the top of the guides, and consequently pushes the top claw f4 out of the bottom hole but two-see the dotted lines of Fig. 2-and leaves it opposite the next hole above, into IOO TIO

which it is forced by the spring f6. The vertical motion of the slider suffices to disengage the claw from the hole because its front edge is convex upward and backward and the top of it was outside the hole and above it. During the time that the claw f4 is passing from one hole to the one above it, the scaffold is suspended by the claw f5. The levers are then pulled down into position No. 3, wit-h the result that the scaffold is lifted the distance of one hole into the position indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 3. During this lift, the claw f5 is disengaged from the hole in which it was, and engaged in the one above by the spring f9 pulling its shorter arm up. A double motion ofthe levers lifts the scaffold the distance separating two holes. To lower the scaffold down the pole, (assuming that the levers stand in position No. 2 of Fig. 3, the corresponding position of the scaold being the one illustrated by the full lines of Fig. 2,) the rod g5 is connected to the short arm of the bell-crank lever f. The immediate result is that the thimbles g2, g3 are pulled into the position illustrated in Fig. 2 by the washer g7 and the spring g4 acting together. The handles of the levers are next pressed down a little, just enough to take the weight ofthe scaold oi the top claw f4 which is forthwith pulled out of its hole by the spring g4 acting upon the thimble gaand usingthe other thimble g2 as a base of operation. The levers are then pushed toward the position No. l, Fig. 3, whereupon the weight of the scaold pulls it down until the claw f4 is opposite the next lower hole, when it is forced into the same by the Aspring f6. During the descent of this scaffold, the claw f5 remainsin its hole. The new position of the top claw and of the disengaging gear is indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 2 and by the full lines of Fig. 3. The washer g7 has been carried down away from the cylinder, and the collar gi brought down low enough to exert some pressure upon the cylinder top g. The levers, now standing in position No. 1, Fig. 3, are again pressed down a little, partly to take the weight of the scaffold off the claw f5, and partly to increase the pressure upon the cylinder top. The said claw is forthwith pushed out of its hole by the rock of the bell-crank lever f upon its fulcrum in the top of the crutch f3, which rock is caused by the said pressure, into the position indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 2. The weight of the scaffold once more pulls it down the pole until the claw f5 is opposite the next lower hole. During this descent, the claw f4 remains in its hole, and the rod g5 is stationary. The projecting thimble g3 hole. Fig. 3.

It is a mattei' of indierence in which of the two positions the levers may be when the scaold has to be either raised or lowered. They are started to the other position, the corresponding claw being either disengaged raised and forced into a higher hole, or disengaged, lowered and forced into a lower hole as the case may be.

Either or both of the levers e5 e may be worked, in raising and lowering the scaffold as above; both levers being connected in like manner with the slide e2, which carries the bell-crank lever j", which in turn carries said clawf4. See Fig. 3.

To shift the scaffold to either hand, e. g. to the right hand, (this operation being understood from a reference to Figs. 3, 4 and 7a.) the compressors 122 are pulled away from the safety rope by pulling the rope 117. The position which the compressors will then occupy is illustrated by the dotted lines in Fig. 7a. The pendent or shifting ropes, 1126, b2, are loosened from their cleat 1922, and, after their ends have been carried to the right hand of the pole, the right hand one is hauled on. The hauling is from the right hand peg 1219; consequently the head of the pole is pulled over along the safety rope 1918 into the position illustrated by the dotted lines of Fig. 4, the other' rope 122 being paid out as much as its fellow is hauled in. The hook 1225 on the side of the hand-lever 1924 is then engaged in either the front or rear eye a3 of the pole-shoe, and the extremity of the short arm brought to rest upon the ground to the right hand of the base block a4, the longer arm standing up on the left hand. Power is applied to the last mentioned arm,'and the block levered along until it is vertically under the head of the pole. The ropes b26 1926 are then made fast to their cleat, and the rope 197 slackened till the compressors 1212 1212-hold the safety-rope between themselves and the top of the frame 1J. When the pole is pulled over, the head is of course brought lower, and when the base-block is moved the head is raised again. The pivotal connection of the shifting strut to the pole provides for its accom modatingitself to both of these motions of the pole-head.

A scaffold to work on a single pole is necessarily limited in point of length. When it is desirable or necessary that that limit of length be exceeded, a twin pole modification is made use of. This modification is illustrated in Fig. 8. The same references are used as with the single pole construction. The differences in detail are as follows:

The base block ctt-This is long enough to provide cavities for both the poles. It is shifted by using a lever to each pole at the same time.

The levers e5, @6r-There is only one to each slider. But the longer arms of both stand The levers are now in position No. 2,

IOO

toward each other and are linked together by any suitabledevice, e. g. a stud @12, projecting from the side of one of the levers near the outer end and engaging in a slot @16 in the other lever.

The shtng strut-One arm and roller are fixed to the outside 0f each pole c, and the detachable side is long enough to ven gage all the four screwed ends of the sides of the two shackles Z914. The braces Z913 are lengthened accordingly.

The shtftng gaan- The eye Z926 is supported preferably' in a central position between the two poles. The rope Z97 also occupies a central position. It is bifurcated three times, once to respective poles, and each fork once to the respective compressors. The cleats for the three ropes Z97, Z926, Z926 are fixed in any convement position.

The scaold may be as long as would make the use of more than two poles desirable. l3nt no matter how many poles are used there 1s only one base block and one shifting gear common to them allfor they must all be moved at once.

It must be distinctly understood that although the hollow pole is the one up or down which, according to my invention, the scaffold climbs with a one-before-the-other clawing mot1on and action, I do not limit myself to the minor details of the construction of the claw and of the bar to which it clings, but may use any one which may be suitable. For lnstance, according to the construction illustrated in Figs. 9 to 11, the iiat recessed bar 616 with its series of equidistant holes 611 is replaced by a T-bar e11. The flanges of it are recessed flush with the face of the pole c from which the web @16 projects at a right angle. o16, 616 are a series of equidistant notches cut therein. These notches are inclined downward from the front edge of the web, and backward toward the flanges. The longer arm of the bell crank lever has a pair of forwardly extending webs e16, @16, formed upon 1t. These webs stand apart far enough to allow of their embracing the web of the bar which serves as a guide for the lever. e17 is a pin extending from web to web of the claw, and near enough to the front edges of the latter to allow of it resting in the bottoms of the notches, which are shaped to correspond.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13 is characterized by the use of a channeled bar 816 xed flush with the face of the scaffold. It has equidistant holes, @11, in it, in the same way as has the bar @16. The channel serves as a guide for the claws f4, f6, and 1n so far replaces the notches f11.

In Figs. 14, 15, and 16, the bar is of T-section, with duplicate webs e111, @16. It is notched in the same way as the bar e11. The long arm of the bell-crank lever rides up and down the channel between the two webs, which therefore act as guides. The pin @17 is passed through its nose at right angles with it, from which it projects right and left.

I claim- 1. The combination of movable scaffold, scaffold pole or poles, a vertical series of equidistant holes or detents on the face of the pole, a claw pivoted upon a block movable vertically with reference to the scaffold by levers connected with the scaffold, and a second claw pivoted on a fixed attachment to the scaold, spring devices adapted to drive the claws into the holes or notches against which they may respectively be, and a detachable connection between the two claws consisting of a spiral spring held withinacylinder, thimbles projecting from the ends thereof, a rod releasably connected to one claw and adapted to move through the said thimbles and spring and collars on the said rod whereby the motion of the rod is communicated to the said cylinder.

2. The combination of scaffold pole, or poles, movable scaold, vertical series of holes or detents on the face of the pole, a duplex lever and claw gear on the scaffold and a claw disengaging mechanism all co-operating together as hereinbefore set forth with reference to the lowering of the scaffold.

3. The combination, substantially as herein specified, of the vertical pole or poles provided with holes or detents in vertical series, the movable scaffold sliding upon said pole or poles, the vertical guide-rods e e carried by said scaold, the slider e2 guided by said rods and provided with the fulcrum pin e4, a lever or levers fulcrumed on said pin and connected with the floor of the scaffold by a link, the claw f4 carried by a bell-crank lever f pivoted to said slider, the claw f5 carried by a subjacent bell-crank lever f', the crutch f6 connecting said bell-crank lever f with the iloor of the scaffold, and devices? for forcing said claws into mesh with said holes or detents, for raising the scaffold in the manner set forth.

4.. The combination,'substantially as hereinbefore specified, of the movable scaold,

the scaffold pole 0r poles, a rearwardly projecting shifting strut carried by said pole or poles and having the horizontal rollers Z911 at its extremities, shifting ropes applied to the top of the pole, a base-block in which the pole is pivotally stepped, and means for moving said base-block laterally to complete its adjustment.

5. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore specified, of the movable scaold, the scaffold pole or poles, the shifting strut projecting rearwardly from said pole or poles and having the horizontal rollers Z911 and horizontal pivots Z9167 shifting ropes applied to the top of the pole, a base-block in which the pole is pivotally stepped, and means for moving said base-block laterally to complete its adjustment.

(i. The combination, substantially as heremy signature, in presence of two Witnesses, 1o inbefore specified, of the movable scaffold, this 28th day of December, 1892.

the scaffold pole or poles, the safety rope bis KARL ALBERT FROSELL. xedly held at both ends, rope-clamping de- Witnesses: 5 vices attaching the top of the pole to said OHAS. S. VVOODROFFE,

safety-rope, and the rope 127 connected with 22 Southampton Buildings, London, T/V. C., said clamping devices for releasing the top England. of the pole from said safety rope. THOMAS LAKE.

In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed 17 Gracechm'ch Street, London. 

